Reflections
by Forgotten Muse
Summary: ARCHIVED
1. Default Chapter

'Reflections'

A fanfic by T. 'RockChick' Evans, this chapter edited by Latifah 27

ThaliaRockChick@aol.com

Author's note:

All characters owned by Sega/ Egmont Fleetway etc, etc… 

Actually, Latifah 27 helped out a lot with this fic- she edited this chapter, and in fact her story 'The Banshee Universe' gave me the idea in the first place. Thanks Latif… and 'The Banshee Universe' is an AU of Orin's fanfics, so thanks to her too!

Continuity: This is a Fleetway fic- that is, based on the UK Sonic the Comic- and is set 1 year after the events of issue 184, and before Sonic Adventure 2. 

* * * *

Chapter 1- Two Worlds

~ One year ago... ~

It was a simple dilemma, but one that could alter the course of history.

Of course, the Chaos creature didn't know that. All he saw were several irritating animals before him- one of which-- a grey- furred creature, with large and pointed ears-- was in the process of connecting a power cable. The other one was blue and somehow familiar, stirring a faint memory in Chaos' clouded mind. This one had been forced to his knees by Chaos' fear effect, a strange power which allowed him to strike terror into the hearts of his victims.

The question was this: which animal to eliminate first?

The grey one was the closest. A watery fist flashed out, knocking the helpless being aside. The rabbit thudded to the ground, lifeless.

It would have been just as easy to choose the second target. The hedgehog, made vulnerable by terror, would have felt the impact; and before the pain could even register, he would have heard a sickening crack… the sound of bone snapping…

Then there would have been a merciful numbness; and moments later, nothing at all…

But that never happened. Johnny Lightfoot died at the hands of Chaos, while Sonic escaped unscathed.

…In one world, at least…

~ Now ~

Morning, in the Emerald Hill Zone…

In the control tower's bathroom, Sonic finished washing his face, and yawned. Another normal day had begun…

Normal- yeah, right. Like that would ever happen, Sonic thought to himself, grinning. Not now that Robotnik was back in action… the madman seemed to have got over his depression, and was back at it again. So there would probably be more Badniks to fight today, more trouble to sort out.

But first, there would be breakfast.

The blue hedgehog was about to walk out of the room with food on his mind, when he thought about the one empty space at the table.

The grin fell. He had been in a good mood this morning, seeing as his sleep had been undisturbed by the frequent nightmare about… about what had happened the year before. Things were beginning to get back to normal again. But every so often, it would all come back to him… and Sonic would remember that Johnny was gone. Gone forever, and it had been Sonic's fault…

Dull pain shot through the hedgehog's fingers, and he realised suddenly that he was clutching the white enamel sink with all his strength. 

Johnny wouldn't have wanted this, he told himself furiously. He had to get a grip on himself… he was Sonic the hedgehog, and he was NOT going to have a nervous breakdown!

He forced his hands to relax, and opened his eyes. The hedgehog caught his reflection in the mirror above the basin.

And jumped back, gasping in shock--

The reflection did not have the usual sleek blue fur and glowing green eyes. Instead, the fur was a bright and almost metallic yellow, and the eyes had neither pupils nor irises- they had been replaced by red swirls of shifting chaotic energy.

Super Sonic?!

Sonic backed away, panicking--

Not that! Anything but that. He hadn't been that stressed! Had he?!

But then Sonic realised that although this was unmistakably Super Sonic, it wasn't '_his' _Super Sonic. The image didn't follow his movements, for a start. The yellow hedgehog had in fact moved closer to the mirror, peering into it with a look of total bewilderment.

They could see each other… it was as if the mirror was made of clear glass, a window looking into… something…

Sonic noticed other discrepancies, too- this Super Sonic had his quills combed down, almost like Sonic's own- only a bit more unkempt looking. Plus, there was some kind of gunmetal grey device attached to his chest. Thick cables protruded from the four corners of the small metal box, two passing over his shoulders and two around his waist. Presumably, they met at some point on the hedgehog's back; thus making the contraption look a little like a tiny backpack worn back to front.

Then Sonic blinked, and the apparition was replaced by his own reflection…

The hedgehog hissed, and squinted at the mirror- no, he was still blue, still normal.

Maybe it had been his imagination.

Maybe it hadn't.

Sonic sprinted out of the room…

~

Amy yelled as she was almost run over by the speeding hedgehog. 

"Sonic! Watch where you're going!!" She yelled, annoyed and amused at the same time. Amy had long since given up chasing Sonic- he had never returned her apparent feelings, so now they were just friends.

The blue hedgehog barely glanced back over his shoulder in his rush for the front door.

"Sorry, Amy! But I've got to talk to Ebony and Pyjamas, now!"

"Why the rush? What about breakfast?"

He paused by the door, regarding the pink hedgehog gravely.

"I… I can't tell you why, but it's urgent…"

Amy was shocked by the fear in his voice, and could only nod silently. Then Sonic was gone, slamming the door behind him…

* * * *

Meanwhile, in the same place…and yet not…

When the strange reflection appeared in the mirror, Super Sonic had been doing the usual morning chore of sorting his spikes out.

The hedgehog's jagged yellow quills naturally curved upwards… which was fine as far as he was concerned- but Super Sonic was now a full-time Freedom Fighter. He hadn't had much choice, considering Sonic's… condition. But it was Sonic that the people of Mobius wanted to see, he was still their hero; so Super had to try and live up to that image. The new style was his way of saying that he was trying…

Even if it did make him look like Sonic. It wasn't a look he liked much. So imagine his surprise when he looked up to see his counterpart's reflection…

Super Sonic frowned at the mirror, whose image had returned to normal. 

What had he just seen? Sonic? But he was at Ebony's. And it was impossible...

Maybe it was a vision… of the future? Or the past?

The amber hedgehog shook his head, smiling a little.

"I'm turning into Pyjamas," he muttered, thinking of his psychic friend; amused at the idea yet still troubled. 

What did it all mean?

Maybe it was nothing. His energy -or lack of it- could be doing strange things to him again… hallucinations were a new one, but nothing surprised him anymore.

He did feel a bit drained, but didn't he always? Super Sonic sighed, and checking the watch-like device on his right wrist that monitored his energy level, he found it to be a little low.

He tutted, and pushed a button… the readout on the tiny screen changed, this time showing the status of the energy storage device that he was hooked up to.

The machine, which was attached to his chest, was basically a life support system. Super Sonic had started to run out of energy about a year ago. His body had rapidly aged; and although he had been temporarily recharged during a battle with Perfect Chaos, he had burned out again not long afterwards. It seemed that he just wasn't meant to exist on his own.

So ever since, he had been encumbered by this contraption- which supplied sufficient Chaos energy to keep him alive, and kept his power stable. The problem was, it could only store enough energy to last a day or so.

"Looks like this thing is gonna need recharging again soon," Super Sonic said to himself, slightly irked. He didn't like the idea of spending another few hours wired up to a Chaos Emerald… yes, he would feel better afterwards- but no matter how many times he went through the process, he still worried about what might happen if it went wrong.

Too much energy could be worse than too little… but at least he hadn't flipped out once in the past year.

So, Super Sonic began the journey to the Metropolis Zone. The trip would drain him further, and he could have recharged using the Chaos Emerald kept in the Emerald Hill Zone… but there was one at the Groovy Train coffee shop too, for emergencies. Besides, he needed to see if everything was all right over there after his strange sighting.

* * * *

Some time later, at Ebony's coffee shop in the 'true' STC universe.

"…Pyjamas…?"

Somewhere in Sonic's subconscious, there was a weak response to Pyjamas mind probe. It had taken her a long time to get through the strong mental barriers that Sonic had put up around this corner of his mind.

She winced inwardly; the psychic was not looking forward to this. 

"Pyjamas… I… I'm confused… help me…"

"I'm sorry, Super Sonic… I can't," she mentally projected, shuddering. Perhaps it would have been more merciful if he had been destroyed completely, rather than being reduced to this… a trapped ghost, constantly struggling and failing to reconstruct himself…

"Wh… what's happening…?" The mental whisper came again.

"Don't worry, I'm just mind-linking with Sonic," Pyjamas replied, trying to make her mental voice as calm as possible. God, she hated this… "Did anything happen today? Sonic saw you in the mirror." 

There was a pause before whatever remained of Super Sonic finally replied, his response hesitant and fragmentary.

"Sonic…? But… I am… no…"

The psychic felt pity towards her old friend. There seemed to be hardly anything left of his individual mind; Super Sonic was barely sentient, and Pyjamas wasn't even sure if he was now anything more than an obscure part of Sonic. He didn't seem to know, either…

"Super Sonic, concentrate. Do you know anything about what happened this morning?" she thought firmly.

"…sorry…Pyjamas…" Sonic's alter ego replied haltingly. "It's… hard to think…" 

Pyjamas agreed with a mental nod; Sonic's mind was dominant, and was overriding Super Sonic's. She used her telepathy to gently ease the blue hedgehog into a deeper trance- not too far though, because she didn't want to completely bring down his defences. He might transform if that happened.

"Is that better?" she projected, sensing Super Sonic's presence get a little stronger.

"Yes…" he replied, more confidently. "Thank you… I feel almost like… like myself again."

"I can't hold Sonic back forever," Pyjamas cautioned.

"I understand," he sighed regretfully. "…and I don't know what Sonic saw… but it wasn't me…"

The psychic frowned. Odd. 

"I have to go now," she thought. There was a wave of despair from Super Sonic… he didn't want her to leave him there, but he knew she had to. "Super Sonic…?" Pyjamas added.

"…?"

"Don't stop fighting," she told him, trying to give him some hope. "Try to hold on. We'll find a way to help you, I promise." She felt Super Sonic smile in response.

"As long as Sonic lives… I'll still be here…" There was another pause. "Goodbye, Pyjamas…"

Unable to take any more, Pyjamas withdrew from the hedgehog's mind. She rose from her kneeling position, lifting her hands from Sonic's forehead.

The blue hedgehog's blank stare disappeared; then he blinked and shook his head, swaying on his feet a little.

"Uh… what…?" Sonic said groggily, before shaking his head again to clear the cobwebs. "…What'd you just do to me?" The last couple of minutes were a total blank. The hedgehog looked up at the white-haired psychic confusedly.

"While you were out of it, I had a very interesting conversation with Super Sonic," Pyjamas replied. "I had to put you under so your thoughts wouldn't get in the way."

"Wait a minute-- Super Sonic?! How is that possible?" Sonic frowned… wasn't Super Sonic just another part of him now?

"Super Sonic still exists," Pyjamas confirmed. "And he said that whatever happened to you earlier, he had nothing to do with."

"And 'he' told you that himself, did he?" The blue hedgehog asked sceptically.

Pyjamas nodded.

"I don't buy it," continued Sonic. "That image I saw… it had to have been something to do with Super Sonic. Either that, or I'm going crazy."

"Stress?" the Mobian woman offered, puzzled.

"Yeah, it must have been, I guess… ah, well. C'mon Pyjamas, let's get a coffee."

* * * *

At the alternate Ebony's Coffee Shop…

Sonic gasped, eyes widening in shock. Then he looked down.

"It couldn't have been me," he murmured sadly.

Amy placed her hand over his.

"Sonic."

The blue hedgehog hesitantly met her gaze, as his girlfriend bent down and landed a light kiss on his cheek.

"It's all right. It was probably nothing," she reassured him.

Sonic returned her smile, gazing into her deep brown eyes. Then he reached up with his other hand and ran his un-gloved fingers through her pink quiff. 

Amy had always been there for him; especially since what had happened last year. Strange that he hadn't realised his feelings before then… but if it hadn't been for her, he didn't know how he could have carried on…

"Thanks, Amy…" he murmured softly.

Super Sonic blushed slightly at the display.

"Eww…" he muttered under his breath, still unable to get used to the idea of Sonic and Amy being together. Yes, he had been Sonic once… but they had both changed so much since then…

"It's probably just because Super needs to recharge." Amy said eventually. She glanced over at the other hedgehog. "Right?"

"Maybe…" he replied uncertainly. "But it seemed so real. Sonic was holding in to the sink, and he seemed so sad… like he was about to burst into tears or something. Then he looked into the mirror- he must have seen me, because he looked terrified."

"Hmm…" Sonic mused. "Are you sure you didn't imagine it? You're under a lot of pressure- after all, being a hero is a tough job. Especially when you're not cut out for it… going against your nature like that, no wonder you're seeing things."

"Sonic!!" Amy hissed.

Super Sonic just shrugged. He had got used to Sonic's occasional jabs about his past, and knew it was only natural.

"Don't worry about it, Amy," the yellow hedgehog said quietly.

Sonic sighed.

"Sorry. It's just that… I wish I could be out there…" he mumbled, again lowering his eyes. Amy squeezed his hand reassuringly.

"You will, Sonic." She whispered. "One day." 

Super Sonic knew it was a bad idea to give him false hope, but Sonic had to have something to hold on to. So he chimed in anyway, the words he had uttered so many times before grating on his ears.

"And then I'll race you to the end of the Emerald Hill Zone."

"And I'll beat you," smirked Sonic in reply. The three animals grinned at each other, but there was sadness behind their cheerful exteriors. It would never happen…

Super Sonic wearily got to his feet.

"In the meantime, I need to recharge," he sighed. "My energy is at rock bottom." He started to make his way over to the back room; then stopped dead--

"What the hell--?"

Slightly translucent yet perfectly visible, another Sonic was walking confidently towards him!

The image saw him at the same moment, stopping in its tracks. The blue hedgehog's jaw dropped, and he took a pace backwards… 

"Guys? Do you see…?" Super breathed.

Amy nodded, shocked into silence, while the Sonic beside her gasped audibly…

* * * *

-- Sonic saw the vision of Super Sonic walking towards him, moments before he was enveloped by blinding light. There was a sudden sensation of falling, a lurch in his stomach… and then the light was gone--

The blue hedgehog instantly dropped into a fighting stance…something had changed, something indefinable was different about the room around him. 

And Super Sonic was still there.

"You?!" the confused Sonic exclaimed. As far as he was concerned, a malevolent demon had suddenly appeared out of nowhere… so he did the most logical thing that came into his mind.

He launched into a spin attack.

Super Sonic saw the attack coming and ducked at, well, supersonic speed. The other Sonic flew over his head and landed on his feet behind the yellow hedgehog.

"Whoa!" Super yelled. "Watch it, pal--"

But Sonic was already coming back for another go. 

"I don't know where you came from, creep- or what you're up to, but you're not gonna get away with it!" the blue one snarled.

Super Sonic shook his head and quickly leaped into the air to avoid the spinning Sonic. Landing on top of him, he pinned the lookalike to the ground; holding the furious hedgehog's arms tightly to his sides.

"Let… me… go!!" Sonic fumed, struggling violently but unable to break Super Sonic's grip. 

"Not until you tell me what's going on here," countered Sonic's captor.

"I'm not telling you anything, you… you monster!"

"Hey, you're the one who attacked me!"

Sonic twisted his head around to get a better view of the yellow hedgehog.

Hostile green eyes met confused red.

"Huh?" Super Sonic said, noticing something familiar stirring in the emerald depths.

His grip loosened; just a fraction…

Sonic picked up on this; having already detected his alter- ego's ragged breathing, the slight weariness in his voice.

He tensed; and a quick spin later, Super Sonic had been thrown clear across the room… where he crashed into a stack of chairs.

Which promptly fell on top of him.

"Not as tough as you'd like to think…" Sonic smirked, getting to his feet.

Super Sonic grumbled to himself as he fought his way out of the furniture mountain.

"If I wasn't drained of energy, I'd give you something to really think about!" he muttered, that old Sonic temper rising to the surface.

"Eager for more, huh?" Sonic chuckled, gearing up for another spin attack.

However, the attack never came.

"Sonic, stop!!" yelled a disturbingly familiar voice…

Sonic turned around, disbelievingly…

* * * *

"You could've intervened a bit sooner," Super Sonic grumped, walking up to the two figures.

Sonic ignored him, and continued staring in stunned silence.

Amy… she was standing there with a look of total shock on her face. Her hand was clasped affectionately around that of the seated figure, who was… 

Was…

"It's … me…" the blue hedgehog breathed, staring at the other Sonic who made no attempt to rise to his feet. This was just too weird…

Like the version of Super Sonic he had just encountered, the hedgehog was similar yet not the same- he looked…older; run-down somehow, and perhaps a little thinner. The greatest change was in his green eyes, which seemed to have lost some of their spark; the hedgehog wore no gloves, and also sported jeans and a white T- shirt… strangely out of character…

"Who the heck are you?!" the two Sonics exclaimed simultaneously. The seated hedgehog was unable to take his eyes off his counterpart, his gaze taking in his effortless, athletic stance…

"Amy… what're you doing here? I left you back at Emerald Hill!" the standing Sonic frowned.

"I don't know what you're talking about- I've been here all morning," she replied. 

"Wait a minute, something like this has happened before…" the new Sonic reviewed his memories. "This must be a Mirror Zone!" He had once been to a parallel universe where it was him who had turned evil because of the R.O.C.C accident, not Robotnik. "You guys must be from an alternate reality, where something in the past happened differently to the real Mobius."

"This IS the real Mobius, pal. And I'm the real Sonic!" was the reply.

"Yeah, right!" the other blue hedgehog exclaimed. "This is one messed-up universe. I mean, you're wearing clothes, you're holding hands with Amy…and you're on good terms with--" he gestured at Super Sonic, "--That."

"I have a name, y'know…" Super started, beginning to get annoyed.

"This guy could be a clone or a robot for all we know," Mirror Sonic growled. Super Sonic shook his head.

"If he is, he must be a really good copy. His energy trace is identical to yours," The yellow hedgehog said, showing off an ability to sense Chaos energy that Sonic lacked. "And I'm not sure, but I think--" 

Before he was able to continue, a new voice broke in.

"I heard shouting- what's going on?"

Sonic froze- and he could have sworn that his heart briefly stopped---

"It… it can't be… " he murmured. The hedgehog turned around, very slowly. "J…Johnny?"

He looked up at the friend he had seen die a full year ago. The grey rabbit stared back, equally shocked.

"Sonic?!" He gasped. "You… you're--?! But how?"

Sonic felt like he had been hit by a battering ram. He was stunned. In this dimension, Johnny was alive…

…Alive!!

--But if Johnny was here, then…

Sonic turned, meeting the puzzled gaze of his near-identical copy. Who took his hands off the top of the table; moving them to his sides in a disturbingly familiar movement.

Standing beside the rabbit, Sonic watched as Mirror Sonic left the table and approached--

--In his wheelchair…

* * * *

to be continued….

Right… ok. Will this ever be finished? Still not sure. Um… I have writer's block…


	2. the flawed mirror

Reflections By T. 'RockChick' Evans, with ideas by Latifah 27  
  
Disclaimer & copyright stuff: see chapter 1 (Story summary: Sonic has been transported to a Mirror Zone where it was Sonic, and not Johnny Lightfoot, who was hit by the Chaos creature. The Mirror Sonic survived the blow, but lost the use of his legs. Now the 'real' Sonic and the Mirror Amy are on their way to the Emerald Hill Zone; while Mirror Sonic, Super Sonic and Johnny remain at Ebony's coffee shop.) * * * *  
  
Chapter 2- The Flawed Mirror  
  
Sonic pelted across the landscape at somewhere below the speed of sound, not going any faster so he wouldn't risk dislodging Amy's grip around his neck. The hedgehog's mind was working almost as quickly; he was confused, and he wanted answers. This was one crazy dimension he'd ended up in. Sonic guessed that some kind of zone portal had opened up around him, sucking him into this mirror world- but he would have to ask the Mirror version of Porker Lewis about it. Which was where he was headed now, with Amy in tow. Just the two of them; it would have taken much longer to mobilise everyone else. Hopefully, Porker - if it was the same Porker he knew- would be able to figure out a way to get him home. He had no intention of staying on this world any longer than he had to. Sure, Johnny Lightfoot was alive here, but being around him was only going to open old wounds. It was weird; Sonic assumed he would have been overjoyed to see his late friend again. but deep down, the hedgehog knew that the Mirror Johnny wasn't the rabbit he knew. That Johnny was gone, forever. Talking to the identical double would only remind Sonic of how he had failed, all those months ago- he hadn't even been able to look the mirror rabbit in the eye. The speeding hedgehog blinked as the rushing wind made his eyes water. Or seemed to. Sonic painfully guided his thoughts on to another track. Other things were different, too. there was Super Sonic for a start. The blue hedgehog didn't know what to make of him; his yellow copy had so far showed no desire to destroy anything whatsoever. Although it was hard to believe, Sonic had to assume that this Super Sonic was different to the one from his world. after all, everything else was. Sonic had already encountered a 'good' Super Sonic in a different Mirror Zone. And the others seemed to be on good terms with him- friends, even. Even the mirror Sonic. Almost as if-- "--as if he's taken my place." Sonic concluded silently. That wasn't surprising, considering. Sonic shuddered. He didn't know how his double could live like that. crippled. Sonic's speed was his life; without it he was. nothing. How could he stand it? Again, Sonic thought of the dead look in his counterpart's eyes, and the undisguised envy that had flashed in them when the two hedgehogs saw each other. .Green jealousy. And that wheelchair. a high speed model, the kind disabled athletes use in marathons. Sonic grimaced. Poor guy- what had happened to him? He'd reach Emerald Hill before long, but he couldn't wait until then for explanations. He needed to know, now. ~ Amy Rose held on for dear life as the blue hedgehog bombed through the countryside. It had been so long since he had carried her like this; she wasn't used to it anymore. The pink hedgehog had to remind herself that this wasn't the Sonic she knew. He was. different. Some of the differences were physical, of course. The biggest contrast was that he was able to carry her at all. There were more subtle changes though, things she hadn't noticed about her Sonic that were only evident when she compared him with this one. With her arms wrapped tightly around his neck, she could sense that the new Sonic was fitter, more powerful than the version she knew. Understandable. With a slight sigh, Amy recalled when her Sonic had been like that. he hadn't been so thin back then, either- but these days it was often a struggle getting him to eat in the first place. Amy herself seemed to be the only thing that kept him going. There was the greatest change. His personality. The crippled Sonic's character was somehow. darker, more thoughtful. A year of practical inactivity had given him a little patience; he tended to pay attention more, even if he was as short tempered as ever. And. he loved her. But the newcomer? He was everything that Sonic had been before.the incident. Cocky. Impatient. He seemed incredibly uncomfortable around her, suggesting that on his world they didn't have a. relationship. But he was even more uncomfortable around Johnny. Scared witless would be a better term, Amy thought. Which was weird. The only thing the two Sonics seemed to have in common was pride. her Sonic was still fiercely independent, refusing help from anyone except Amy herself. It must have really hurt him when this new version turned up. Suddenly Amy felt the blue hedgehog slow down, and he screeched to a halt. Yet they were no where near Emerald Hill, she realised, standing up and brushing her dishevelled hair back into place. Sonic took a step back, keeping his distance. "Amy?" he asked softly. The pink hedgehog looked up. "I have to know. How did. how did he end up like that?"  
  
* * * *  
  
Meanwhile, in the back room of the Groovy Train coffee shop. The mirror versions of Johnny and Ebony were in the process of connecting an orange- coloured Chaos Emerald to various wires and bits of machinery, which in turn were joined up to Super Sonic's energy storage module. The yellow hedgehog just sat there, looking thoroughly fed up. "Have I told you how much I hate doing this?" he muttered. The red swirls in his eyes began to rotate sluggishly, suggesting that he was beginning to get agitated. "Many times," Johnny grinned, adjusting something on the gunmetal- grey box attached to Super Sonic's chest. "It just makes me nervous," the hedgehog continued. "Me plus Chaos energy, that's just asking for trouble. I'm like a time bomb or something." Ebony the cat shook her head and attached another cable to the emerald. "Super, how many times have we recharged you?" she asked. Super Sonic thought about it for a moment. He frowned. The he frowned a bit more. "Uh, quite a few." he concluded eventually. "And how many times has it gone wrong?" "None?" "Exactly." the feline grinned. "That's what all this stuff is for," she waved a hand at the snaking wires. "- It regulates how much energy you get from the emerald, so we don't have any, uh, explosions on our hands." Johnny looked at her, impressed; Ebony was becoming quite the expert on this kind of thing. Super Sonic smiled, slightly reassured. "Hey," the mirror Sonic said, wheeling himself into the room. He glanced at the contraption that his yellow counterpart was wired up to. "How long is this gonna take? We need to get to Emerald Hill." Johnny connected the last wire and pushed a button or two, before standing back. "Well, we're almost finished setting up," the grey rabbit replied. "So. say about two hours?" "Oh, is that all." Sonic muttered sarcastically, scowling. Super Sonic sighed. "At least you don't have to sit still for two hours," he groaned, tapping his foot in a very Sonic- like way. Ebony laughed. "Well, you did insist on fighting that other Sonic. No wonder you got so drained." "It's not like I had a choice," the amber hedgehog muttered in reply. Sonic shook his head and scowled. "I still don't trust the guy," he told Super Sonic. "How can you be so sure he's really a mirror version of me?" "Trust me, I know." "Whatever," the blue hedgehog sighed, frowning. "I just don't like the thought of Amy being with him. Anything could happen between here and Emerald Hill." "You must be joking," Johnny said under his breath. Super Sonic nodded knowingly. "I don't think you need to worry about him. You saw the way he was acting around Amy, he just isn't." "It's not him that worries me." Sonic interrupted quietly, desperation in his eyes. "It's her." There was an awkward silence. It was obvious now what was on Sonic's mind. He had come to depend on Amy over the past year; she was his lifeline, the only thing that stopped him from sliding completely into depression. She had been there for him- even though, in his mind, he was useless. But in the past, she had been attracted to Sonic because of his speed, and because he was a 'hero'. And now an able-bodied version of himself had come out of nowhere, as headstrong and full of attitude as he had been in the old days. He was with Amy. Alone. And Sonic was scared. "Sonic, Amy isn't going to leave you just because that other guy can walk," Super Sonic said, gently. "She loves you. Not him." Sonic sighed again and did not look reassured. The yellow hedgehog knew he had to lighten the mood. "I remember when you thought I was after her," he grinned. Sonic looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "Weren't you?" he smiled back, finally cheering up slightly. When Sonic had first realised how he was starting to feel about Amy, he had become deeply suspicious towards Super Sonic- for exactly the same reasons. The yellow hedgehog was another version of him; so why shouldn't he be attracted to her? It had been only a few months after the final defeat of Chaos; Sonic had not yet accepted Super's presence. Back then, he didn't trust him at all. Super Sonic shook his head. "I'm not that crazy!" he chuckled. " Besides," he added thoughtfully, "There isn't much chance of me going after Amy now." The hedgehog had a weird little smile on his face. "Huh?" Sonic frowned confusedly. Then a smirk began to rise to the surface. "No kidding ." Super Sonic nodded, blushing slightly. His eyes whirled a little faster as he aimed a sidelong glance at Ebony. "Well, er. you could say that me and Ebony are-- aggh!" He looked sharply to the right, where, by way of shutting him up, the black cat had initiated the recharge process. The initial jolt of energy had shocked him into silence. "Warn me next time, okay?!" the yellow hedgehog complained after a few moments, feeling his body relax as the emerald's energy flowed through him. Ebony just raised an eyebrow and grinned. Johnny looked at Sonic, shrugging. "They sure kept that quiet," he said.  
  
* * * *  
  
Meanwhile. "About a year ago," Amy explained, sitting down on the grass, "This monster called Chaos turned up in the Metropolis Zone. We don't know much about where he came from, but he had this weird power." "Yeah, I remember him," Sonic winced. "Chaos could generate fear somehow." When the interruption was over, the pink hedgehog nodded and continued speaking. "The creature was causing mayhem. Porker managed to rig up a machine to disable it, but one of the wires was disconnected. Johnny went to plug it in." She paused, looking over at the silent blue hedgehog. He was standing motionless, his eyes oddly unfocused; his expression almost. horrified. "Sonic, are you listening to me?" Amy said loudly, exasperated. Sonic seemed to snap back into the land of the living, blinking rapidly. "Uh. yeah, Amy. I was just. remembering." The girl shook her head. "As I was saying. Johnny connected the power cable. but at the same moment, Chaos lashed out." her voice faded to a whisper. "Sonic-- my Sonic-- couldn't get out of the way in time." Sonic nodded, understanding. He felt himself slowly sink to the ground; in this world, it was him who had been struck. Not Johnny. ".Johnny carried him to safety," Amy was saying. "If it wasn't for Sonic's quills, the blow would have killed him. But his back was broken; and now his legs are completely paralysed. He'll never walk again." Sonic looked down at the ground. "It must have been hard." Amy sighed, nodding slowly. "Yeah. It was. I was there when the doctors broke the news to him. he didn't take it very well." An understatement. "He was. suicidal. for a while." "I can imagine." Sonic paused; there was a moment of leaden silence. "What. what happened then?" "Chaos came back. He was after the Chaos Emeralds. and about the same time, Super Sonic turned up. He'd heard about what happened to Sonic. Super was dying, but offered to help anyway. We didn't trust him at first--" she smiled wryly, "--but we didn't really have much choice. After Chaos found all the emeralds, he was the only chance we had." "And Super Sonic drained Chaos' energy, right?" "Right," Amy affirmed. "Lucky for us Pyjamas was around, otherwise we'd have really been in for it. My Sonic never really got over his depression though. but at least we have each other. I guess it somehow brought us together." The pink hedgehog frowned. "You seem to know a lot about this," she added, curiously. "But something must have happened differently where you come from." Green eyes stared hard at the ground for an instant, then squeezed shut as Sonic turned his face away. "It was just. different, okay?" he choked. "I don't wanna talk about it." Wisely, Amy kept her mouth shut. There was another long silence. So now he knew. This world was as messed up as Sonic had first thought; a single decision by a monster had changed everything. The blue hedgehog's thoughts were a whirl of confusion. if the Mirror Sonic was involved with Amy, what did that mean for him? He didn't know what to think about the Amy from his zone. And the other question, hanging like a black cloud over his mind, was this: Which life would he rather lead? Would he have been content with life in a wheelchair, if it meant that Johnny Lightfoot lived? It was only a theoretical question, but the horrifying thing was that he didn't have an answer. He didn't know. He just didn't know. And Sonic hated himself for that. The answer didn't have a chance to arrive. For the two hedgehogs, absorbed in their own thoughts, hadn't seen the badniks coming.  
  
To be continued. 


	3. chapter3

'Reflections' part 3

by T. 'RockChick' Evans

groovy_train@hotmail.com

Disclaimer: It's all in part 1. 

A/N- Latifah 27 helped me out with this chapter, the end part is mainly her idea.

Sorry this took so long… I have lots of work to do. And getting hardly any reviews can kind of put a writer off, yes? Well, if you want the next chapter sooner, you know what to do about it. So there.

Re-reading the first part, I just realised how confusing it is. Should I re-write it so it's easier to follow? Feedback please. And yes, the medical stuff towards the end of this chapter isn't exactly accurate, I know nothing about that stuff, it's just what I think. But hey, this is fan fiction so we can ignore little things like that, right?

You can't? Oh. Tough. 

Also, anyone who's never read STC may not understand how Sonic got stuck in the mirror universe in the first place. Basically, in the comic Robotnik merged two worlds- Mobius and Shanazar- into one, which played havoc with the fabric of reality. Or something… this opened up a lot of portals into new Zones, alternate universes n' stuff. Sort of like Archie there, I guess. In this story, one of these portals opened up around Sonic.

* * * *

The Control Tower in the mirror Emerald Hill Zone was pretty much identical to the versions in the hundreds of other Mirror Universes, with the exception that where those buildings had steps, this one had ramps. Every now and then, one of the Emerald Hill Folk would pass by, taking no notice of a large vehicle resembling a Volkswagen camper which was parked outside. Moments earlier, two hedgehogs had emerged from the vehicle; one in a wheelchair, the other walking alongside- accompanied by a tall grey rabbit. 

The Emerald Hill Folk didn't bat an eyelid at any of this, not until an indignant yell echoed from inside the building.

"What do you mean, 'they're not here' ???"

The mirror Sonic glared up at Porker Lewis from his wheelchair.

"W-well, uh…" the nervous pig stammered, shocked at the outburst. "Amy and… that other Sonic, they never turned up…"

"I don't believe this!" Sonic fumed, bristling. "I knew I should never have trusted that creep. He's… he's gone and run off with my girlfriend!"

The newly- recharged Super Sonic glanced at the angry blue hedgehog. If Sonic got any more ticked off, he thought, there would be steam coming out of his ears.

"Y'know, you really should calm down…" the yellow hedgehog began.

"Calm down?! YOU are telling me to calm down?! Excuse me if I missed something, but--"

"Sonic, don't start that again." Johnny sighed. Porker backed off, keeping his mouth shut, and Super Sonic rolled his eyes. Or maybe he didn't- it was hard to tell.

"Listen. They've been gone for, what? Three, four hours? It's not that long… maybe--" he began.

Sonic shot his lookalike a venomous glare.

"You of all people should know better than that. This is another version of me we're dealing with; he could get here in five minutes if he wanted to." The hedgehog scowled. "I knew this was gonna happen."

"They might have got into trouble or something," Johnny suggested.

"Yeah, Sonic. You're just jumping to conclusions," Super added. Sonic's frown became deeper.

"You'd be the first to complain if he had taken off with Ebony."

"That's different, and you know it!" The yellow hedgehog snapped, returning his glare. 

"Is it?" Sonic replied quietly.

For a few seconds, there was a silence as green and red eyes met in two identical hostile stares. If looks could kill - or more precisely, if Super Sonic had decided to use his powers- Sonic would have been fried by now. 

"Super and Ebony…?" Porker whispered discreetly to Johnny. The rabbit nodded.

"Yeah..."

The tension was abruptly broken by a quiet 'ahem' from behind, just saving Sonic from getting into a blazing row with himself.

The Kintobor Computer's disembodied face hung in its column of light.

"I did detect some badnik activity not far from here, several hours ago…" the hologram commented. "…But it was in an uninhabited area."

"See?" Johnny said. "Maybe they ran into some trouble."

"Probably because that faker was 'distracted'," Snarled Sonic, turning his wheelchair to face the computer. He then glanced behind him. "Well, goldilocks? Can you sense his energy anywhere?"

Super Sonic looked at Sonic and sighed. It was good to see some life in his counterpart for a change, but his anger was misplaced. Suspicion and jealousy were stopping the blue hedgehog from thinking rationally.

The amber hedgehog closed his eyes and concentrated; 'his' Sonic's energy signal was loud and clear, as was the nearby Chaos Emerald; and he could just about locate the emerald at the Groovy Train. Nothing else though.

"…No, I'm not getting anything…" he said, after a moment. "But Doc. K has a longer range than me." Super Sonic nodded towards the computer, who immediately started scanning with his advanced sensors. There was another pause, this one lasting for a few minutes.

"Got him!" Kintobor exclaimed eventually. His face dissolved and was replaced with a floating map of Mobius, which gradually zoomed in on a barren area of the planet. A red dot appeared at a point on the map. "The other Sonic is right there. And it's fair to assume that Amy is with him."

"I hope that isn't where I think it is," Super Sonic said in a worried tone, carefully scrutinising the map. The spirals in his eyes picked up speed. "I've been there before, and…" he trailed off.

"What? What's wrong?" Sonic demanded frantically.

Super Sonic muttered something incomprehensible, before glancing desperately at Johnny and Porker. They met his gaze before looking at each other worriedly; both rabbit and pig knew that expression on his face only too well. It was Super Sonic's patented 'take cover, Sonic's gonna blow' look.

"Speak up." Sonic growled slowly. Super Sonic looked down.

"Badnik processing plant," he muttered.

The fireworks were as expected. Sonic tended to get… 'extreme' where Amy was involved.

"WHAT?!!" he yelled, angrily spinning his wheelchair to face the others. "A… a badnik processing plant?! You're telling me Amy might have been turned into a badnik?!" The blue hedgehog's eyes went wide with fear and disbelief. All pretence of calm was lost in the thought that Amy, the one who had pulled him back from the brink, who had never given up on him, was in danger. And there was nothing whatsoever he could do to help. That feeling of helplessness came over him again; was he to blame? He couldn't be. His mind searched for a scapegoat, and found one.

"That other 'me'. He's responsible for this… he's probably even working for Robotnik--"

"Sonic…" Porker began, stopping him. "We can't jump to conclusions yet, we don't know what happened…"

Sonic 'hmphed', folded his arms and glared at nothing in particular.

"The important thing is to mount a rescue," Super added.

"Yeah..." Sonic agreed, looking up. "We need to get Amy out of there, and we need to do it _right now!_" he clenched a fist, looking around impatiently. "Well? What're you guys waiting for? Get Tails and the others, and…"

"Tails isn't here," Johnny reminded him. "He's over at the Chemical Plant Zone, helping the Flock. We can't contact him with all the interference over there--"

"That pixel brain is never around when you need him. What about Knuckles?"

"Since his island sunk, he could be anywhere."

"Tekno?"

"She's with Tails."

Sonic scowled. He glanced at Porker, who cleared his throat and shifted uncomfortably. It wasn't likely he was going to get involved in any kind of rescue mission. The hedgehog sighed.

"Looks like it's just gonna be you and Johnny," he said to Super Sonic, giving him a pleading look. "Please.. you have to get Amy back… I…"

"It's all right, Sonic. I understand," Super Sonic cut in, knowing how hard it must be for him to ask his other self for help.

"If only…" Sonic began quietly, looking down at his legs, "If only I wasn't so damn useless!"

Porker Lewis saw Sonic's anguished expression and sighed; the hedgehog would give anything to be able to help. And it would take more than two to break into a badnik production facility and make a successful rescue attempt. He frowned thoughtfully, absently tapping his chin. The blue hedgehog looked up as the pig hesitantly cleared his throat.

"Uh, I wasn't going to tell you this yet, but I've been working on this idea…"

* * * *

Meanwhile, elsewhere on Mobius…

Amy scowled and stared morosely through the bars of the dingy cell. A couple of burnished red badnik troopers passed by outside; the pink hedgehog glared at them, but the menacing humanoid machines did not respond. She wished she had her crossbow, so she could shoot them with more than just dirty looks.

There seemed to be more badniks around now than there had been earlier. Amy's frown deepened at that- perhaps something was about to happen…

Hearing a soft sound from behind, Amy regarded the unconscious Sonic who was lying on his back on something that was probably supposed to be a bed. He groaned softly, one gloved hand twitching.

"Sonic?" Amy asked, quickly taking the few steps needed to reach the bed.

"…?" his eyelids fluttered, then opened. "Amy? Wh…what's going on…?"

"We were ambushed by badniks… they got you with their stun guns before you could attack." 

Sonic raised a hand and rubbed his aching head, nodding slowly as it came back to him. He propped himself up on his elbows, fighting dizziness, waving Amy off as she fussed and told him to take it easy.

"…Ughhh. How long was I out?" The blue hedgehog glanced around, grimacing as he saw the drab walls of what was obviously a dungeon of Robotnik's design; he'd been in enough of them to recognise one when he saw it.

"A few hours," replied Amy. Sonic nodded again, thoughtfully, before glancing at the pink girl.

"You should've run, Amy. If you had got some help…"

She shook her head.

"Not likely when I had ten badnik troopers holding me at gunpoint. Besides, I wasn't exactly going to leave you behind…"

"Thanks, but I don't think your…" he gave an ironic chuckle, "…_devotion_ is going to get us very far. We're both in the same boat now," Sonic smirked, and grunted as he moved into a sitting position with his legs hanging over the edge of the bed. He gave her a calculating stare. "And I _can_ take care of myself without you keeping an eye on me."

"Um, sorry… It's just, you know… _my_ Sonic…"

"Yeah, yeah, I know." The hedgehog's voice had a distracted tone as his green eyes scanned the walls, ceiling, and floor for an escape route. He wasn't going to be spin-attacking out of here for a while, at least not until the weakness from that stun blast wore off completely.

"Don't bother, I already tried," Amy sighed, observing. "These cells were built to hold Super Sonic…"

"So what? Do I look yellow to you?" Sonic muttered defensively.

Before Amy could reply, there was a clanking sound as the bars swung aside. Several troopers stood with guns at the ready. One of the robots gestured with its weapon.

"_You will come with us_." The tone of the deep, artificial voice said plainly that this was not a request.

"Make me, bucket head…" Sonic muttered under his breath, receiving a glare from Amy.

"_You _will_ come with us,_" the machine repeated, the way it held its gun showing exactly what would happen if they didn't.

Sonic and Amy looked at each other, both thinking it was a better idea to co-operate than get shot. And maybe there would be a chance to escape along the way somewhere.

"Can you walk?" Amy quietly asked Sonic, who looked unsure but wasn't about to say it out loud.

The troopers escorted the two hedgehogs through the corridors, guns surrounding them on all sides. Sonic was still unsteady on his feet, needing Amy's help to keep going in a straight line.

"Hey," he said to her as they walked, looking somewhat embarrassed. "Don't get any funny ideas because I've got my arm around you, okay?"

"As long as you don't," Amy smirked back. 

Sonic hmphed, knowing she was winding him up. As if _his _Amy wasn't bad enough. But it was best to stay cheerful in situations like this, when they didn't know what Robotnik had in store for them…

* * * *

Emerald Hill…

The mirror Sonic's patience was starting to run out. 

He was sitting on the edge of the scanner table in Porker Lewis' lab, gripping the edge with his hands to keep from sliding off. His shirt, jeans and shoes were gone, showing how much thinner he was than his counterpart from the other reality- apart from his arms, which had got stronger from constantly pushing his chair.

His legs, however, were as limp as ever; to pass the time, Sonic spent a few moments trying to flex his toes. As always, it didn't work.

"Johnny and Super Sonic left ages ago, Porker…" he said eventually.

"Because you couldn't wait and sent them ahead," the pig replied, exasperated. "Do you want me to get this working, or not?"

Sonic remained silent. Of course he wanted this to work… if it did, it would be a chance to walk again, to_ run _again, not to have to sit around and do nothing when the girl he loved was in danger.

Porker fitted the last piece of the device into place. The small piece of curved metal sat flush against the fur of the hedgehog's leg; Sonic guessed it was probably cold, but couldn't feel a thing. 

"Don't see why you couldn't tell me about this before, Porker," the hedgehog said, regarding the intricate web of wiring and occasional sliver of metal that adorned his lower limbs. The complicated apparatus was connected to a belt around his waist, which was also covered with circuitry.

"How is it supposed to work, anyway? And ease up on the geek-speak this time, Lewis." Sonic smirked. "You know I don't get that science stuff."

Porker began to adjust the belt. He thought for a moment, then started to explain.

"Well… it's a bit more complicated than this, but let's say that your brain sends messages to your legs when you want them to move. But those messages aren't getting through." He made a cutting gesture with his hand. Sonic grimaced slightly, nodding.

"What this does," Porker continued, indicating the belt that he was fiddling with, "Is…_intercepts_ those messages. It tells the muscles in your legs what to do, then this part-" he gestured to the wiring that he had finished setting up, "-acts as a support and helps them do it. Because- no offence, Sonic- your legs don't have much strength anymore."

Sonic wasn't offended and nodded thoughtfully again.

"So this thing is like some kind of booster?"

"Yes," Porker affirmed. "The bottom line is, if it works, you should be able to run as fast as you used to before your, er, injury."

"Cool." Sonic grinned, then took in Porker's more-worried-than-usual expression. "I see a 'but' coming on, Porker…" he frowned.

The pig sighed.

"That's why I didn't tell you or anyone else about my invention before- I didn't want to get your hopes up." He shook his head. "I've been working on this for months, but I don't even know if it'll work at all, because I haven't been able to test it properly." Porker paused. "And even if it does work, I haven't been able to iron out the major flaw… I have no way of stopping your nervous system from rejecting the device."

"So…?" Sonic prompted.

"So it's not a permanent solution," the inventor replied gently. "It might not happen, but it's very likely that the device will stop working after a while, say, several hours. If it does, it'll never work again."

The hedgehog looked downcast for a moment.

"So I'll only get one shot at this," he mused quietly.

Porker nodded.

"Sorry, Sonic."

"It's okay. As long as I have time to save Amy, that's all that matters. One shot is all I need." He fixed his friend with a determined stare. "Let's get on with it."

Porker moved around to the back of the table. Sonic's belt had a small box about the size of a pack of cards attached to the back, partly covering the small bump on his spine and the scar from where surgeons had tried and failed to repair the damage. The box nestled neatly between the two spikes that protruded from the hedgehog's back. 

"Ready?" Asked the pig. Sonic looked over is shoulder and nodded.

Porker leaned over and made an adjustment to the metallic box with a small but complex tool. The circuitry on the belt and down Sonic's legs glowed softly. A small beep issued from the chrome rectangle.

The hedgehog shuddered once, then his eyes widened.

"Whoa…"

--To be coninued…


End file.
